Law Enforcement & Policing Fellowship • 21–23 November 2025

The Takshashila Institution and the Indian Police Foundation hosted the first Law Enforcement & Policing Fellowship (LEPF) Academic Conference from 21 to 23 November 2025 at The Chancery Pavilion, Bengaluru. The three-day conference brought together LEPF Fellows, senior police practitioners, academics, and subject-matter experts for an intensive exchange of research and ideas aimed at strengthening India’s law enforcement ecosystem.

The conference commenced with an informal ice-breaking dinner on Day 0. Day 1 featured thematic panels on Artificial Intelligence in Policing, Forensics, Evidence & Investigations, and Challenges in the Information Age. Fellows presented working papers on contemporary policing challenges, including AI-enabled policing, nationwide IVRS deployment, the use of modern technology in narcotics enforcement, forensic capacity-building, virtopsy, police accountability, drone policy reforms, and data analytics in financial fraud investigations.

An expert address was delivered by Ram Phal Pawar, IPS (Retd.), Vice President (Technology), Indian Police Foundation and former Director General, National Crime Records Bureau, who spoke on the transformative role of technology in strengthening crime records management in India. This was followed by a keynote address by Dr. M. A. Saleem, IPS, Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP), Karnataka, who highlighted the emerging challenges of the information age, including cyber-enabled crimes and data-intensive investigations, and underscored the need to reimagine policing institutions, capabilities, and mindsets to address rapidly evolving threats. The day concluded with an interactive session featuring the Nagara: Democracy Simulation Game.

Day 2 opened with a keynote address by Harish Narasappa, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Partner, Samvada – Centre for Law and Policy. This was followed by thematic panels on Data & Privacy in Law Enforcement and Policy Pathways for Future-Ready Policing. Presentations addressed issues such as doxxing and online harms against women, unified investigative platforms, metadata access challenges, reimagining policing for Society 5.0, improving conviction rates, and multidisciplinary approaches to preventing animal cruelty. Each session was followed by rigorous discussions linking research insights to practical policing reforms.

The conference concluded with an awards ceremony recognising the Best Research Papers and Best Research Associate, and outlining the next steps for the LEPF fellowship community. It was indicated that selected research papers would be shared with the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and the Ministry of Home Affairs for further consideration. The Indian Police Foundation was represented in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Takshashila Institution. Senior police leaders present included M. N. Reddi, IPS (Retd.), State Director, Karnataka Chapter, Indian Police Foundation and former Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru, and Javeed Ahmad, IPS (Retd.), former Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh.